Tory sport minister accuses NDP leader of swearing, shoving By: Danielle Da Silva Posted: 7:35 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 13, 2023 Last Modified: 10:22 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 13, 2023 Updates

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/04/2023 (1250 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Accusations of intimidation, profane language and physical violence were launched against Opposition Leader Wab Kinew, following a tense exchange at the Manitoba legislature Tory cabinet minister Obby Khan says left him feeling threatened and unsafe.

The allegations stem from a handshake between the two men at a New Democratic Party sponsored event Thursday afternoon to mark the first official Turban Day at the legislature in Winnipeg.

However, the elected officials on either side of the handshake offered significantly different takes on what should have been a collegial gesture in front of a crowd of community members.

Following question period, Khan raised the exchange as a matter of privilege, alleging the Fort Rouge representative violated his rights as a member of the legislative assembly.

Khan said he was invited to deliver remarks at the event in his role of minister of sport, culture and heritage. At the conclusion of his comments, the former Winnipeg Blue Bombers player said he shook hands with the NDP leader, who allegedly pulled him in close and offered an earful of profanities.

The sport minister alleged Kinew used multiple curses and insults to express his displeasure with Khan’s public remarks.

Khan said the NDP leader’s grip on his hand was strong and the exchange concluded with a “physical shove” to his stomach.

“I tried to back away from it,” Khan said in the chamber, recalling the interaction to Speaker Myrna Driedger.

“I’m a big guy (the former CFL offensive lineman was listed at 6-3 and some 300 pounds in his playing days). I could have probably backed away if I really wanted to make a scene,” the 42-year-old MLA said.

“I leaned over, I said, ‘Now is not the time for this. We can talk about this later.’ And he would not let me leave, held my hand in, again repeated, ‘You piece of s—t. How dare you do this? How dare you politicize this, we invited you here.”

Khan said he was shaken by the encounter.

“I took a lot larger insults on the field and physical abuse playing football, but not when I’m coming to work as an elected official, not when I’m at such a joyous, such a great celebration of the Turban Day.”

“I took a lot larger insults on the field and physical abuse playing football, but not when I’m coming to work as an elected official.”–Cabinet Minister Obby Khan

The MLA for Fort Whyte received a standing ovation and multiple embraces from Tory colleagues following his statement in the chamber.

Kinew acknowledged there was a tense exchange at the event, but said “at no time was there any swearing, at no time was there any name-calling.”

The exchange was strictly verbal in nature and included an insult from Khan, he countered.

Kinew admitted he took issue with partisan remarks made by Khan at the event, and agreed he should have raised his concerns with the sport minister at a different time.

“For this tense exchange that we had earlier, I can tell that he is upset and for that I am truly sorry. However, what happened between the two of us was partisan bickering, to be blunt,” the NDP leader said, eliciting intense heckling from the government benches.

Health Minister Audrey Gordon shouted across the aisle at the NDP leader accusing him of once shoving her off a corner at River Avenue and Osborne Street, before collecting her belongings and leaving the room.

The Speaker was forced to call MLAs to order on two occasions to allow Kinew to finish his response.

“I do dispute the facts,” Kinew said. “Significant details were incorrect about what the member for Fort Whyte said.”

Driedger said the matter would be taken under advisement and she would return with a ruling.

Speaking to reporters after question period, Khan said he cannot accept Kinew’s apology when the facts of what happened are denied.

“I’m a big guy, I’m a strong guy, I can handle myself, but to have that happen in here, I don’t know what to say,” Khan said.

Kinew said, in hindsight, he should have handled the situation differently. Everyone should feel safe when coming to work, he added.

“This was not a profanity laced tirade,” he insisted.

Kinew said did not know what the health minister was referring to when she accused him of shoving her in Osborne Village.

In a statement, Gordon said the alleged incident took place during the 2016 election campaign, when she was the PC candidate in Fort Rouge and was handing out flyers.

“He approached and physically intimidated me simply for being there — in broad daylight,” she said. “He came at me with such force that I was physically moved from the location I was standing in.”

Gordon said she is unsure if she was pushed or if she “subconsciously backed up from shock… While I may have forgotten some of the specifics, I have not forgotten how Wab made me feel.”

“If this were hockey, they would both be thrown out for a game misconduct. This is not a grown-up way to act.”–Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont

Khan’s matter of privilege is the second to be raised within the past six months concerning accusations of physical intimidation and violence.

In November, NDP MLA Bernadette Smith also raised a matter of privilege after Tory MLA Blaine Pedersen (Midland) smacked the back of her chair during question period.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said given the challenges faced by Manitobans, including inflation, flooding and crises in health care, the NDP and PCs are fighting about who gets credit for Turban Day.

“They were thinking only of themselves,” Lamont said. “If this were hockey, they would both be thrown out for a game misconduct. This is not a grown-up way to act.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca